Mechanism for clamping mobile units to rails



Oct. 11, 1938.

H. J. PERAZZOLI MECHANISM FOR CLAMPING MOBILE UNITS TO RAILS Filed March 21, 1936 INVENTOR BY fir ATTORNEYS Patented Och-11, 1938 I; I

m1r newOFFICE MECHANISM FOR; CLAIWPING MOBILE UNITS .TORAILS,"

Hairy J, re ms, Philadelphia, Pa... Application Mai-ch21, 1936, Serial No. 70,017 8 Claims.. (Cl. 51-178) This invention relates to mechanism for clamping mobile units to the rails of a trackway. The invention is especially concernedwith the provision of a'novel clamping mechanism particularly adapted for application to a mobile unit carrying means for operating on a rail, such for example as a;track grinder, I V

One ofthe primary objects of the invention .is the provision of a simple; effective and readily actuated and released clamping mechanism for mobile units of the type abovereferred to. 7

I Another object of the invention is involved in the provision of means whereby the clamping mechanism may readily be actuated to clamping machine, for operating on the rails -must, of.

course, be removed, and the quick action clamping mechanism of this invention is of importance in reducing the time necessary to unclamp, remove the machine and, after passage of a train, return the machine'to the rail 'andIe-clamp.

Still further. the inventionhas in view. arrange ing the several parts of theclamping mechanism;

in such manner that they may be raised substantially clear of the 'rail onwhichthe mobile unit is adapted to ride, whereby the unit may be readily shifted or moved along the rails, over switches, etc. a

Still other objects and advantages of the-invention will be apparent from a consideration of the nature of the equipment with which the clamping mechanism is particularly adaptedfor. use. In a rail grinding machine, Ifor example of.

the caterpillar type having a series of bricks or equivalent abrasivemeans adapted. to move-on the surface of the rail longitudinally thereof,the.

grinding action exerts a very powerful drivingforce, tending to carry the machine along the rail or rails. With this in mind, the invention provides a clamp which; whilehaving, the desirable quick actiongat the same time exerts a very substantial clamping force: in'order to resist the driving tendency of the grinding operation.

In addition to the above, in"certain' machines which are adapted to be positioned and operated more or less manually-for example by an operator'standin'g at an end of the machine, the in vention further makes provision whereby the operator positioned as aforesaid may conveniently actuate the clamping mechanism. In other words, an operator positioned at an end of the machine in position to take care of other controls on the machine or to maintain the machine in an upright position may, with the improved clampingmechanism, actuate the clamp without leaving his-post. To furtherfacilitate complete control of the machine by such an operator, the invention provides an operating element for the clamp which is located"for'convenient actuation by the foot of the operator, thus leaving his hands free to manipulate othercontrolsor aid in supporting the machine in its proper operative position. 1

How the ioregoing objects and advantages are attained, togetherwith others which will occur to those skilled in the art,fwi1lbe more apparent from 'a consideration of the following description making reference to the accompanying drawing, in 'which Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of an end of a grinding machine adapted to ride on a rail, to whichmachine the clamping mechanism of this invention has been applied, various parts beingshown in vertical section to illustrate the arrangement; a

Figure 2'is anend elevational view on an enlarged scaleof the machine taken from the right of Figure 1, this view also showing'the clamping mechanism in elevation; and

Figu're'3 is a vertical sectional view-taken substantially as indicated by the section line 33' on Figure 1.

- Various features of the grinding machine illustrated form no part of the presentinvention per se, these being described and claimed in my copending application Serial'No. 46,992, filed October.28, 1935 now Patent No. 2,114,454, issued April 19, 1938. Some of the structure of a machine oi this type is, however, illustrated in the drawing in order to bring out the cooperative relationship existing between those parts and the improvedclamping mechanism.

The machine incorporates anendless series of bricks 4 of abrasive or like material, carried by a chain, or the like 5 which is adapted to ride on sprockets orv equivalent supports in an oval path, one run of which .overlies the rail. R in position to grind the surface thereof. This grinding por tion of the machine proper is supported on frammg 6 which is movable vertically with respect to an additional frameincorporatlng longitudinal I ,members 1 and uprights 8. Each upright carries a roller or wheel 9 adapted to ride on the rail, as clearly seen in Figures 1 and 3. The framing 6 incorporates slide or guide members It] having guide flanges I l -l l adapted to embrace the upright 8 and thus provide for relative vertical sliding movement of the two frames.

Each upright 8 is further provided with a vertically elongated slot l2 through which an ear l3projects, this ear being carried by member (see Figure 1). Vertical adjustment of framing 6 and thus of the grinding unit itself may be effected by means of a shaft I4 threaded in a nut or collar l5 which isifiXed' as. against rotation in the ear l3; .be efiected by 'a worm wheel l6 which in turn may conveniently be actuated by a Worm (not shown) mounted on shaft l'lfwhichlatteris 'Op- 1 erated by hand wheel l8. It will be understood that a mechanism similar to that just described is positionedtoward each end of the machine so thatthe two ends of the framing 6 are carried up and down in unison in accordance with the adjustment of the hand wheel 18 A spring I9 reacting between the ear l3 and an abutment 20 serves to permit upward displacement of the framing 6, and the grinding unit, as when encountering an irregularity in the rail or the like.

While the clamping mechanism of the present invention may be applied to a wide variety of mobile units, it is peculiarly adapted to a unit in i In applying the clamping mechanism to this unit, I prefer to emthe general class described.

' adapted to rest on the top surface of the rail and alsoa-pair of flanges 24--24. The flanges'in turn serve to support the clamping jaws 2525 which are pivoted 'theretoby pins .26. The

lower ends of the jaws preferably carry adjustable pointed bolts 21 which, upon movement of r surfaces 28 which, in release position (seeFigure 3) abut against each other at one corner to limit the movement in thereleasing direction and which furthercooperate with a ,Wedge'part '29 formed on the operatinglever 39.

The operating leveris preferably carried more or less directly from the, upright 8 as by a bracket 3! having a pair of apertured ears 32 to which the lever is pivoted by a pin 33. Upon depression of the foot pedal 34 carried by the'outer end of the operating lever, the wedge part 29 is driven down in between the angled surfaces "2828 and in consequence the upper ends of the jaws are spread and the lower ends'thereof brought together to clamp the rail. A guide device 35 projects upwardly from the base and is provided with a slot through which the operating lever passes, this guide device serving'to limit movementfof the operatingv lever in addition toits.

guiding'functionf V As best seenin Figure ,3, a spring, 36 isprovided fOrdrawing the upper'ends of. the jaws 25 toward each other and thus releasing the clamp. An additional spring- 31 serves toraise the operating lever 34 and also to pivot the entire clamping mechanism about the wheel axis 22 Rotation of shaft l4 may,

ure 2) against the side faces of the rail.

arm

and thus raise the clamping mechanism clear of the rails (see Figure 3).

In considering the operation of the mechanism it is first pointed out that in Figures 1 and 2 the structure is' shown in clamping position, i. e., in engagement with the rail, while in Figure 3 the mechanism is shown in released position and also raised about the pivot 22 away from the rail. 7

When, the machine is brought to a point of use and positioned on the rail, the operator'standing at the right in Figure 1 may conveniently effect clamping by depressing the foot pedal 34. This action, as above stated, spreads the upper ends of the jaws and forces the bolts 21 (see Fig- The grinding may now take place and the machine .will be rigidly maintained in the desired location in its clamping position as just described, the

operator may conveniently-employ-his hands to keep the machine in its proper operative position, as bygrasping the handle H or, if desired, he may manipulate the wheel I8 for the purpose of adjusting the height of thegrinding unit proper. When it is desired to move the machine to a new spot along the rail; the operator merely releases the foot-pedal enough to disengage the clamping bolts 21. rolled on its rollers 9 to the new location and the foot pedal again actuated to eifect clamping'to'the' rail. When it is desired to move the machine from place to place by travel along the rail, the operatorsfoot may be completely removed from the pedal 34 'andin this event the spring 31 serves to raise the lever 30 until this lever abuts the upper part of the guide 35. This in turn causes the entire clamping mechanism to pivot upwardly about the pivot 22 (the axle for the wheel or, roller). As seen in Figure 3, this ,upward movement is sufficient to bring the lower ends of the jaws 21 entirely clear; of the upper side of the rail R. By virtue of this upwardldisplacement the machine may now be transported from'place to place along the rail without danger of fouling of. any part of the clamping mechanism on switch parts, crossings, or the like. .i'

7 From the vforegoing it will be seenthat the invention providesnot only an effective and powerful wedging or clamping action, but further incorporates these desirable features in a devicewhich at, the same timehasquick action,

so that minimum time lossiis necessary in'moving the equipment from place to place or in removi githe equipment entirely from the rail so as to permit the passage of a train or any other railway vehicle. M ,IclaimL, a

1. Illa. machine for operating on arail ofa trackway, a supporting wheellmounted on the machine and adapted to rideonthe. rail, a mechanism for clamping thema'chine to the rail including a framepivotally mounted coaxially with said wheel for movement. upwardly and downwardly with respect to'the rail, a pair of clamping jaws carriedeby, the frame at least one of whichis movable toward and away from the rail with the frame in alower pivotalposition of the frame, and means for effecting relative-movementof the jaws to provide for clamping and release of the rail. r

,2. In a machine for operating on a'rail of a trackway,'a supporting wheel" mounted on the 1 machine and adapted to ride "on the rail, a mech- The-machine may then be anism for clamping the machine to the rail including a pivotally mounted frame, a pair of clamping jaws carried by the frame at least one of which is movable toward and away'from the rail with the frame in a lower pivotal position, means for effecting relative movement of the jaws to provide for clamping and release of the rail, and means urging said frame and the jaws carried thereby to an upper pivotal position upon release of the operating means for the jaws.

3. In a machine for operating on a rail of a trackway, a supporting wheel mounted on the machine and adapted to ride on the rail, a mechanism for clamping the machine to the rail including a frame pivotally mounted for movement upwardly and downwardly with respect to the rail, a pair of clamping jaws carried by the frame at least one of which is movable toward and away from the rail with the frame in a lower pivotal position, and a base plate adapted to engage the rail in a lower pivotal position of the frame to support the clamping mechanism on the rail during actuation of the jaws.

4. In a machine for operating on a rail of a trackway, a supporting wheel mounted on the machine and adapted to ride onthe rail, a mechanism for clamping the machine to the rail including a frame pivotally mounted for movement toward and away from the rail, said frame having a partadapted to rest on a rail in a lower pivotal position and being adapted to be raised to an upper pivotal positionaway from the-rail, a pair of clamping jaws carried by the frame, means for effecting relative movement of the clamping jaws toward and away from the .rail including an operating element adapted to effect clamping of the rail upon downward movement thereof and to release the jaws upon upward movement thereof, a spring reacting between a part of the machine and said operating element for raising the element to release the jaws, and interengaging means on the frame and said element for raising the former when the latter is raised by said spring.

5. In a machine for operating on a rail of. a trackway, means for supporting the machine on the rail, mechanism for clamping the rail to secure the machine thereto, said mechanism being mounted for downward and upward pivotal movement, means for operating the clamping mechanism including an operating element positioned relatively low for foot actuation by an operator, and means normally moving the entire clamping mechanism including the operating element to a position above the rail when the operating element is released.

6. In a machine for operating on a rail of a trackway, a supporting wheel mounted on the machine and adapted to ride on the rail, a mechanism for clamping the machine to the rail including a frame mounted for downward and up ward pivotal movement into and out of operative position with respect to the rail in which latter position the clamping mechanism is clear of the top of. the rail, said frame having a part adapted machine and adapted to ride on the rail, a mechanism for clamping the machine to the rail including a frame mounted for downward and upward pivotal movement into and out of operative position with respect to the rail in which latter position the clamping mechanism is clear of. the top of the rail, said frame having a part adapted to rest on the rail in the lower or operative pivotal position, a pair of clamping jaws carried by the frame, means for effecting relative movement of the clamping jaws toward and away from the rail including an operating element adapted to effect clamping of the rail upon downward movement thereof and to release the jaws upon upward movement thereof, and means normally urging the operating element to an upper position.

8. In a machine for operating on a rail of a trackway, means for supporting and positioning the machine on the rail, a rail working tool carried by the machine, a mechanism for clamping the machine to a rail of. the trackway, said mech- V 'device for said mechanism including a single operating element providing upon actuation thereof for sequential movement of the clamping mechanism into operative position and then clamping of the rail by the jaws.

HENRY J. PERAZZOLI. 

